The NBA regular season entered the final month of the sprint, many teams in the West after the crazy arms race before the trade deadline, starting from the fourth sun in the West, the Warriors, Clippers, Timberwolves, Lone Ranger, Lakers, throw a Timberwolf, the remaining four teams, much more competitive than the top three Nuggets, Grizzlies, Kings in the playoffs. Of course, in the 1 month after the trade, the Lakers became the biggest beneficiary, because they successfully sent unwanted players, such as Wilson, Jones, Anderson and others, and the players they got could contribute enough energy. Some trades, on the other hand, have become typical failures, and the similarity between the Suns and the Lone Ranger is that they have torn down the team's framework in order to get the two superstars of Durant and Irving. To make a metaphor, there is only money to buy a house, but they choose to rent a house while fully mentioning Porsche.
When Durant wasn't there, the Suns lost back-to-back losses to the Kings and Warriors, conceding more than 120 points in both games, and the defense was useless. However, the Suns' biggest advantage lies in the ability of Booker + Paul + Ayton to ensure the team's lower limit, at least the Suns have little problem holding a playoff direct ticket. In early February, Irving suddenly submitted a departure application to the Nets, and the Nets must send Irving away, otherwise Irving left free this summer, and the Nets bamboo basket was empty. The Lone Ranger and the Lakers were competing at the time, and in the end, the Lone Ranger took out Fanny Smith + Dinwiddie + 2 second-round picks in 29 years and got Irving + Big Morris from the Nets. At that time, as soon as the trade came out, Lakers columnist Reid criticized Lakers general manager Pelinka and owner Jenny Buss, thinking that the two of them made James' final championship window close!
At that time, James's various actions had proved that he really wanted to join forces with Irving, and even after Irving came to the Lone Ranger to make his official appearance, James expressed his dissatisfaction at the press conference. However, the Lakers management was not idle, followed by sending Wilson + 27 years of protected first-round + Jones + Anderson, in exchange for Beasley + Russell + Vanderbilt, including the addition of Bamba since then, the entire height and projection space of the Lakers came out at once. After the trade deadline, the Lakers were 8-4, three victories over the Warriors, 27-point comeback to defeat the Lone Ranger, win the Grizzlies, win the Thunder, and after Wei Shao left the team, the Lakers' defensive efficiency instantly improved from a dozen in the league to the top three. And what about the Lone Ranger? Specifically, it should be divided into two stages.
When Irving led the team alone, the Lone Ranger beat the Clippers and Kings in a row, but since Doncic's return, the Lone Ranger has won 3-9 in the last 12 games! The three games won by the Lone Rangers during this period were the Spurs, 76ers, and Jazz. During this period, Irving played stop-and-stop, in fact, Irving played in the game, the Lone Ranger record was only 5-6! And the Nets won 7 games after sending Irving away! Of course, with a 3-9 record, the Lone Ranger had three very obvious and unsolvable problems during this period: First, after saying goodbye to Dinwiddie and Fanny Smith, the Lone Ranger's forward line was the same as the Suns, and Bullock and Joshgreen were Shorty Generals, but the defense was almost none. What's more, the Lone Ranger was originally very weak inside, Powell and Wood had no defensive ability, and the other was unwilling to defend.
Second, there is an obvious on-court conflict between Doncic and Irving, Doncic likes to hold the ball, but with Irving with better finishing ability, Doncic will not play. The third point is directly unsolvable, that is, the Lone Ranger in addition to Doncic and Irving, there is no third stable scoring point, before Dinwiddie can also connect the organization, while driving the substitute lineup, and at this stage, the Lone Ranger is unable to attack and defend, Doncic is also injured, Irving also missed 2 consecutive games, from the fourth in the West, fell to the eighth in the West, and is about to be surpassed by the Lakers and Thunder, the Lone Ranger paid a heavy price in order to get Irving! In terms of personal ability alone, Owen is indeed a super level, but who can control him?
During the Nets period, no matter what Irving did wrong, there was no support and support from Durant, but in the end, Irving was the first to submit an application to leave the team and hurriedly said goodbye to Durant. In fact, Durant is already one of the few partners in Irving's career who can be all-round. In the Lone Ranger, Doncic is indeed taking the initiative to create some space for Irving, but it is not difficult to see from the game when Irving and Doncic are together that Doncic will not take the initiative to give up the ball, even if he does not have the feeling, he will not play without the ball. Simply put, Doncic won't concede to Irving like Durant. But Durant can't get Irving to play wholeheartedly, and what about Doncic? To put it bluntly, Irving is actually working hard for his next contract, as for the team's record, does it matter here with Irving?
Both Durant and Doncic are powerless, while the Lakers have escaped it. If the Lakers really found a third-party team to accept Wei Shao, and the Nets sent Irving to the Lakers, maybe now the Lakers have been thrown off by the army! The Lakers do not lack guards, let alone endpoints, the most important thing must be the forward, let Davis play comfortably, the Lakers ceiling will naturally be high, and Irving no matter how good he performs on the court, there is no guarantee of results, and the stability of playing is not enough, giving people the feeling that they may suddenly slip away at any time. There is no doubt that Irving is the most overrated star, and the overrated point is not his ability, but his character and attitude to play. This summer, the Lakers are far more practical to keep Russell + Reeves + Vanderbilt than to pursue Irving.